LoungeLizzard

Thanks Wolf72. ^
That was of course the answer I was hoping for, so I think I'll save the trouble of collecting the bags in BKK.

seanthepilot

Another death in Patong. This time an expat foreigner has been charged.

Phuket has a SAFETY ZONE. But the CCTV cameras have been tampered with.


http://phuketwan.com/tourism/exclusi...-charge-22019/

''I pulled out my camera to record what was happening and a security guard tried to stop me doing that. Before I knew it, I was being badly beaten up. I pulled out my knife and waved it back and forth to defend myself.

''A couple of Indians jumped in and with their help I was able to escape a little distance down the street. If the Indian tourists hadn't rescued me, I reckon I would be dead.''

Security cameras should have recorded the scene. But in some parts of Patong, cameras are disabled or turned the wrong way. "

Phuket remains the wild west. Anything goes. And Thais can do anything, with impunity.

My advice... Be careful out there!

bentrmpt

I have a question for those who have visited the area before:


My wife and I plan on visiting Thailand in 2016 and want to spend a week or 10 days getting full island experience.

Has anyone chartered a boat for a multi-night cruise of the islands? Has anyone joined a cruise by chartering a cabin on a boat? If so, I'd love to hear about your experience.

I'm not sure we can get enough people to commit so that we can charter our own boat, but we can easily join one of these cabin charters...

http://seascape-sail.com/destination...uket_7days.php

http://www.dreamyachtcharter.com/wp-...uket-Dream.pdf

http://www.sailingtourphuket.com/cru...-thailand.html



Would it be better to just keep Phuket as a home base and take day-trips to the islands?
Would it be better to use Koh Lanta as a base and take a few day-trips from there?

Thanks in advance. I'd love information and opinions from those who have chartered before!

pricesquire

Staying 3 nights at Amanpuri the first week in April. Looking to explore the islands/cliffs/waters, etc.

I hear that boat tours come up and get you right from the water in front of your hotel. Any experience doing this at Amanpuri, and if so, which boat tour did you use?

Thx!

Tchiowa

Yes, and including in that advice should be "Don't videotape things that are none of your business hoping that you can be famous on You Tube". And, of course, there is "don't carry knives or other weapons". I suspect, purely by reading the articles, that the phrase "alcohol was involved" should be included.

wolf72

Am confused with this story about the knife fight...was the guy actually involved with the fight in the bar or was he just passing by and then got involved and blamed for the death?

Tchiowa

Several versions of the story out there. It appears that he was walking by, saw bouncers removing someone from the bar, decided to record it on video. Bouncers told him to stop and tried to take his phone. He pulled a knife and stabbed someone. According to him, in self defense because he was outnumbered.

wolf72

Thanks for clarifying.

Yes, that's the big big problem with video's on cell phones these day's and making a smart decision when and when not to film an incident.

Tragic it had to come to this.

yann

How is the current situation w/ regards to metered taxis?

Are they available in large enough quantities?

Are they likely to keep turning their meters on after midnight?

Thanks.

SK AAR

Yes, should work. Last month (daytime) there were plenty.

But if no taxi available just book the airport limousine (fixed price to most places in Phuket). The metered taxi will be as expensive as the limousine I paid almost 800 THB last month to Patong (incl. 100 B airport fee) which is the same as the fixed price limousine.

If you think the taxi fares will be as low as in BKK - forget it! - at least 2-3 times as expensive. And a metered taxi only works from the airport. Forget about ordering a taxi from elsewhere on the island or even going to the airport by metered taxi. Not possible. The taxi mafia is certainly still alive in Phuket...

yann

We just arrived.

They do turn the meter on, but the driver took us on the "tourist route" (for an additional 5 km), although I showed him that I had Google maps on my mobile.

Haggling with taxi drivers is the worst part of a trip to Thailand IMO. We avoid them as much as possible.

wolf72

There are two ways to get to Patong. One is the more direct route but is a mess at the moment due to construction of the new tunnel and highway with long waits.

The alternative takes you up to the coast and then South into Patong on the narrow road past the resorts by the coast.

I suspect your driver went that way. It's easily much faster than the more traditional way.

Just because a driver takes you 5km off the beaten path does not always mean they are trying to rip you off.

He probably figured you would want to get to your hotel as fast as possible rather than letting the meter run and stuck for 30-40 minutes in a crawl just to get past 1-2 traffic lights between the airport and patong.

Tchiowa

And this applies beyond Phuket. There are a lot of destination in Bangkok where I instruct the driver to go out of the way to get somewhere, simply because I know while it may be a km or 2 longer, it's a whole bunch faster.

yann

Thanks to you both for the lesson, but I was going to Mai Khao, not Patong (sorry about not clarifying that initially).

5 additional km is one third of the total, and definitely not the quickest route around midnight (there was no trafic whatsoever).

I know a scam when I see one and have seen far too many in Thai taxis.

I know I should let it go / not let it ruin my vacations (it doesn't) / it's just a couple dollars/euros, but I just don't like it and wanted to inform others that it does happen a lot in Phuket, even with the new metered taxis.

I also not sure about the THB amount per km (I am willing to give him benefit of the doubt for that one).

Our meter was showing 326THB for 20km, which is much more than the prices mentioned in the article below (although that information may be outdated since it is 6 months old, or there might be a night surcharge of some kind) :
http://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-...cess-48508.php

DirtyDan

And on Samui and from Suvarnabhumi and taking a boat between islands and...

But don't use the word "mafia''. They prefer, "Small consortium of like-minded business owners."